Let your senator know you support the reforms passed by the House of Representatives!

It’s been a busy year in Baton Rouge so far! There were over 20 cannabis-related bills introduced this session. We have seen bipartisan support for both improving the medical program and for criminal justice reforms.

With only two weeks left in the legislative session, several bills have passed the House and are beginning to be taken up in Senate committees.

Criminal justice reform — Multiple bills have passed the House of Representatives that would reduce the harm done by  Louisiana cannabis laws:

• HB 629, which would ban warrantless searches of homes based on the smell of cannabis, passed the House 66-28.
• HB 775, which would legalize paraphernalia for medical patients, passed the House 79-12.
• HB 1028, which would decriminalize cannabis paraphernalia for adult use (imposing a $50 fine), passed the House 56-40.

Let your senator know you support these criminal justice reforms!

We have also been able to keep the bill (HB 700) that would re-criminalize cannabis possession for minors — including by adding possible jail time — from getting a floor vote and helped build bipartisan opposition to it.

In other good news, HB 234, which would impose a fine on smoking or vaping cannabis in a moving vehicle, was amended in a Senate committee to make it a secondary offense (meaning you must be pulled over for another offense). This is important to ensure it’s not used as a tool for pretextual stops (including of people who may be smoking cigarettes or vaping nicotine).

Medical cannabis — We have seen strong bipartisan support for some improvements to the medical cannabis program, although we’ve been disappointed that the bill to remove the paltry cap on cultivation licenses was defeated.

• HB 697 — Many of the reforms are being rolled into HB 697, including moving oversight to the Department of Health from the Department of Agriculture; awarding another therapeutic cannabis pharmacy license in Jefferson Parish; increasing pharmacies after there are over 4,000 active patients in a region; and allowing existing pharmacies to open a satellite location in their region. The bill passed the House 77-16.
• HB 698, which would direct the Department of Health to regulate the testing of medical cannabis products, passed the House 73-19.
• HB 137, which would provide legal protections to verified out-of-state patients with cannabis in their possession, passed the House 66-25.
• HB 135, which would allow verified patients from out-of-state to purchase medical cannabis at in-state pharmacies, passed the House 73-22.
• HB 588, which would terminate the sunset clause for the medical program, passed the House 58-37.

These bills are all now pending in the Senate — either in committees or on the Senate floor. For more information, including the status of several other cannabis bills, you can check up our updated legislative overview. Unfortunately, some other valiant attempts to improve cannabis policies — including by setting up a framework for legalization and removing cannabis possession from the habitual offender sentencing — fell short this year.

Please share this message with friends and family in Louisiana. Together, we will continue to advance sensible cannabis policy in the Pelican State!

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Ask your state senator to support legalization.

Great news! For the first time ever, legalization has passed a New Hampshire Senate committee and is headed to the Senate floor! This morning, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed HB 629 in a 3-2 vote. HB 629 already passed the House and is now headed to the full Senate.

Ask your state senator to vote “yes” on HB 629, which would legalize simple possession and home cultivation of cannabis. (Check out our summary for more details.)

Meanwhile, New Hampshire State Rep. Daryl Abbas’ bill (HB 1598) to legalize cannabis but create a state-run cannabis monopoly will receive a hearing in the Senate Ways and Means Committee next Wednesday. Unlike HB 629, HB 1598 does not include home cultivation.

Rep. Abbas’ model for legal sales is almost surely unworkable due to federal law. Requiring state workers to commit federal felonies is preempted (or nullified).

MPP is encouraging the committee to amend HB 1598 in a number of ways — including to at least create a “Plan B” with automatic licensing of privately run retailers in the event that state-run stores don’t get off the ground.

What: Senate Ways and Means Committee hearing on HB 1598, the state-run stores legalization bill

Where: Room 100, State House, 107 N Main St, Concord, NH 03303

When: Wednesday, April 20 at 9:00 a.m.

If you’re not comfortable attending in person but want to make your voice heard on this bill, you can email comments to the committee.

And don’t forget to write your senator to express your support for HB 629. Then, spread the word to other Granite Staters, so they, too, can raise their voices to encourage the state to live up to its “Live Free or Die” motto.

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Ask your legislators to stop jailing cannabis consumers.

While cannabis policy reform is sweeping the country, Alabama remains one of only 19 states that still imposes jail time for simple possession of cannabis. SB 160, which takes jail off the table and allows for expungements, has passed the Senate Judiciary Committee and will next head to the Senate floor! Now is the perfect time to let your elected officials know you want them to catch up with the times.

Ask your legislators to support decriminalizing cannabis in Alabama!

Polling shows that 63% of Alabama voters support legalizing cannabis for adult use. Surely the margin is even stronger for decriminalization. Still, the legislature must act in order to bring about this long overdue policy change.

Thousands of people are arrested each year for cannabis possession in Alabama! Black Alabamians are 4.1 times more likely to be arrested than white individuals, and in Dekalb County, the disparity is 45 times more likely for a Black resident to be arrested, the second highest disparity in the nation. The legislature must act in order to bring this long overdue policy change to the Yellowhammer State.

After you reach out to your lawmakers, be sure to share this message with your friends and family in Alabama and encourage them to do the same!

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Call your senator today and urge them to pass the Compassionate Care Act!

After seven long years, Sen. Tom Davis’ medical cannabis bill, S. 150 — The Compassionate Care Act — could get a vote on the Senate floor as soon as this week!

Sen. Davis brilliantly defended the bill on the Senate floor last week, and debate will continue again starting tomorrow afternoon. However, opponents from SLED, the sheriffs departments, and the Palmetto Family Council are flexing their muscles to try to peel off votes. We need your help TODAY to make sure senators hear from the overwhelming majority of their constituents who want them to stand up for compassion.

Here’s what you can do: 

1. Call your state senator in support. We provide tips and a sample script to make it easy.
2. Sign up to phone bank with our allies at Americans for Prosperity South Carolina. We need your help to mobilize supportive constituents in key Senate districts.
3. Spread the action link on social media. 
4. Email your state legislators.
5. If you have a personal connection to the issue — including if you have a serious illness and could benefit from medical cannabis — please fill out this form.

This legislation has been a long time coming and has only made it this far due to the diligence and tenacity of Sen. Davis as well as people such as yourself who have raised your voices in support and contacted your legislators about the importance of this bill to the seriously ill and injured patients of South Carolina.

You can read our summary of the bill here. And you can watch the debate — which resumes shortly after noon tomorrow (Tuesday) — here.

Together, we can make the idea of a medical cannabis program a reality. Please have your friends and family around South Carolina let their voices be heard! It is up to us to show S.C. senators that we want the freedom this bill gives patients and doctors to make their own medical decisions.

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Ask your state lawmakers to legalize cannabis this year.

Exciting news! This week, two crucial cannabis bills advanced in the Hawaii Legislature. SB 767 would legalize cannabis and allow licensed businesses to cultivate, produce, and sell cannabis products. It would also allow adult home cultivation of up to three mature plants. Under the bill, the state Department of Health would craft rules around business licensing and retail sales by July 1, 2021. The Senate Ways & Means Committee passed SB 767 with amendments on a 7-0 vote. The bill now heads to the Senate floor for a full vote.

Meanwhile, SB 758, which would increase the possession threshold to one ounce from three grams advanced out of the Judiciary Committee on a 7-0 vote. It also now heads to the Senate floor for a full vote.

Both bills’ futures are uncertain as Gov. Ige appears to be generally unsupportive of legalization. However, House Speaker Scott Saiki (D) is likely to be supportive, as he introduced a legalization measure in 2013. It’s now more important than ever to contact your lawmakers and let them know you support legalization. As both bills progress, we’ll be sure to keep you updated.

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